Faulty Elevator : Zutara Modern AU
by kaorusan241
Summary: Modern School AU, Zuko and Katara, classmates and fierce rivals, are left stranded in an elevator when there is a power cut at their school. Chaos ensues.


Brisk footsteps echoed through the empty halls of Sozin High, ladened with a confidence that was entirely inappropriate for a school corridor - now virtually abandoned by all but the cleaning staff. The lack of audience didn't stop Zuko from exhibiting his usual strong but sullen demeanour as he plugged his headphones in, Linkin Park drifting through his ears as he stepped into the elevator.

Katara staggered down the corridor, books cradled haphazardly to her chest as she made a wild dash for the metal doors. She didn't even glance up as she focused on the precarious pile of medical textbooks in her arms and cried out to whoever was inside the elevator.

"Please hold the door!"

No such luck. As the doors closed she tumbled inside, four STD leaflets and a book on the male reproductive system landing neatly on the floor at Zuko's feet.

Katara's head shot up as she worked at concealing the embarrassment her study materials were causing, cursing at the familiar well-dressed figure she lay at the feet of.

"Thanks a lot, Jerk. I barely made the door because of you."

He wasn't even listening! The nerve of that guy. Although, with his eyes shut and headphones plugged in Katara had the prime opportunity of being able to scan his face, all chiseled jawline and dark features. He was handsome, for an arch enemy, she'd give him that.

Of course Zuko chose this precise moment to open his eyes, which widened imperceptibly at noticing another occupant to the elevator suddenly standing next to him and staring. However he soon smoothed out his expression to one of guarded disinterest.

"Katara."

Tension crackled between them as her eyes narrowed. They had always been neck and neck grades wise, and she was determined to put that _Prince_ in his place. Katara was certain that Zuko's results were only that good because he had a private tutor or something, he's so _privileged_

Not that she would mind much ordinarily, but his wealth seemed to have left him with some kind of complex resulting in a hot-tempered disposition and a determination to obtain the area's top prize for academic achievement, 'The Avatar'.

Which was really too bad for him because Katara knew exactly whose coffee table that trophy was going to end up on, and it wasn't his.

Her father had to work to the bone to be able to afford the tuition to send her and her brother Sokka to 'Sozin's School of Bending and Spirituality', a private school especially catered to those with talents such as hers and their siblings.

School wasn't all work though, gym class was fun. They liked using her and Zuko as examples of how opposing elements could be used to debilitate an enemy using their own strengths, a role she was always too happy to fulfil.

Zuko seemed to remember her stunt in class that morning as the temperature heated up slightly. Katara had used foul play to pin Zuko to the ground and freeze his arms and legs to the gym floor. How embarrassing.

He advanced on her slowly, knowing that she remembered, and still had not regained her composure over, the event.

"Katara.. Your approach in gym class this morning was.. interesting."

Her breathing quickened. He was too close.

"I didn't know you liked to play _dirty_."

The small talk was casual, but the way Zuko's deep voice lingered ever so slightly on the word 'dirty' made Katara's heart race, much to her horror.

"Oh please, like you haven't ever deviated from the rules in pursuit of a goal."

She was proud of her acting, which had left her looking unconcerned and confident, with no hint of how flustered she truly was apparent on her face.

"May I remind you of the secret arson you committed at the school of Kyoshi? I'm clearly the only one who noticed but it's still a bit sad you felt threatened by a bunch of school girls, no matter how intelligent they turned out to be, isn't it Zuko?"

He snorted in response.

"Like no one noticed you creeping out of class to see Jet under the bleachers last year, you really need to work on being more subtle, peasant."

He may be aggressively hot and wealthy but that nickname always ground on Katara's nerves, and he knew it. Blushing, Katara decided she wasn't going to rise to the bait, but then he punctuated the insult by languidly tossing out something concerning peasants and their non-bender families being allowed to attend such a prestigious school and she snapped.

She was just about to tell Zuko where he could stick the Avatar when-

*shudder*

A piercing creak ripped through the elevator.

Katara's heart stopped.

She glanced over at Zuko, who seemed relatively unaffected save for an increasingly ashen complexion.

This can't be happening. This. Cannot. Be. Happening.

One final clunk, and the elevator had come resolutely to a halt.

Zuko cursed under his breath, reaching to his left for the emergency phone and dialling the school help line.

His Uncle, Principle Iroh, picked up the receiver, chuckling under his breath as Zuko started firing out a rapid explanation of what had happened.

"You seem very eager to get off the phone nephew, could it be that there's someone stuck in that elevator with you?"

This is exactly what Zuko had feared.

"No, not at all." Zuko's voice cracked slightly at what he had hoped to be a smooth response and Iroh laughed fully.

"Help will arrive in the next two hours. Say hello to Katara for me Nephew, she is indeed very pretty."

Zuko's face had warped into one of embarrassed horror as he recalled the many 'blind' dates he had been forced into by his uncle when he had thought Zuko liked a girl.

Katara's cutting voice broke through his concentration, her tone once again stoking the fire inside him that seemed to have been burning just for her recently.

"So Jerk, is there any chance you're going to share what he said about how long I'm gonna be stuck with you for?"

Zuko rolled his eyes, leaning against the railing and scanning her annoyed features.

"Just under two hours."

"Great, just great. The last thing I need right now is to be stuck _anywhere_ with you."

"I can't say I'm too thrilled either, peasant."

"You're a terrible person. You don't care about anyone but yourself, and winning that stupid trophy to get recognition or something stupid like that."

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"My mother was killed in a car accident when I was 6. She had won this trophy at school, and I now intend to do the same, to honour her memory. So don't you dare act like I don't have a reason to be judging you, Prince Popular."

Katara startled slightly when Zuko reached forward, surprised that he would want to initiate any contact after that snub, until she felt him brush away the familiar wetness of tears just under her eyes. When had she started crying? How humiliating.

"I'm sorry. That's something we actually have in common."

Katara's head shot up, her azure eyes locking with his caramel hues.

"I had no idea.. I always thought it was something trivial.."

"What, you thought I was compensating for this or something?" He gestured harshly at the burn eclipsing the left side of his face.

"No. That's not what I thought."

"It's okay, that's true, to an extent. I always thought that by winning this trophy my father would recognise me and accept me. I'm heir to the family company but he's never acknowledged my strength and effectively forced me to move out of the family mansion when my mother died.

It's only through the generosity of my Uncle that I ended up here. I always intended to win the trophy to earn my way into the company, so that I could pay my uncle back, but recently I've been thinking that my destiny could be to start up a business of my own, one free of the corruption that plagues my father's enterprise."

Katara was still. How could she have misinterpreted him so drastically? Yes, Zuko was arrogant, and sullen, but how could it have not crossed her mind that it came from problems at home? She of all people should know the impact a broken home could have on a person.

Her hand had risen unbidden to his face before she knew what was happening.

"That's honourable of you, Zuko."

"What?"

In Zuko's eyes, Katara was an angel, her foreign words filling the deep recesses of regret and pain that had haunted him for the last few years. When was the last time someone other than his uncle had comforted him? He couldn't remember.

His ex girlfriend had tried, but somehow Katara always knew exactly what to say, even if he didn't always agree with it.

_Honourable?_ Him?

Overcome with Katara's praise in the face of what he had been sure would be met with contempt and mocking, Zuko abruptly pulled her into his arms, her surprised gasp turning into a sigh as she tangled her tanned fingers into his hair.

They stood there like that for a while, their heavy breathing the only sound to permeate the air as their eyes dried and prejudices melted away.

*shudder*

Suddenly Katara was thrown off balance as the elevator began to shake. She found herself thanking god she'd decided to wear her knee high boots today or she'd already be on the floor.

*shudder*

?!

The elevator rocked abruptly to the side, throwing Zuko across the room and crashing on top of Katara, leaving them in a compromising position on the floor.

Their heart to heart just now definitely hadn't prepared Katara for THIS, and she found herself blushing profusely as she struggled to untangle herself from Zuko's body.

Zuko groaned slightly, his eyes shooting open as he registered Katara, skin tight jeans and a thin oatmeal sweater the only thing separating the two, draped across his body and whimpering slightly from pain.

Zuko's body heat was scalding.

The two stood up shakily, shooting to opposite sides of the cubicle as they blushed and avoided eye contact.

"So.. Uh.."

"Yeah.."

"How's Mai?"

"Um.. She's good.. We broke up."

Katara felt relieved, somehow. She didn't have the right to feel this way, just because Zuko told her about his mother didn't mean he wanted to hook up. But hope was slowly starting to burn through her body, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

So Katara did what she usually did when her feelings for Zuko came to the surface.

"Not surprising I guess, you guys wouldn't have had much to talk about."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well she had the emotional range of a zombie and you're the most hot-headed person I know."

"Hot headed? Are you saying I'm stiff and humourless?!"

"A bit, yeah."

"How could you say that?! At least I don't spend my time preaching about hope and acting like I'm gods gift to earth."

"You're impossible. I don't act that way."

"Yes, you do! And you're so predictable!"

"Predictable!?"

Katara was almost screaming now, their faces just inches apart.

"I am not predictable!"

"Obviously you couldn't have stayed amiable just until we got out."

"Obviously you couldn't have stopped being an arrogant prick just until we got out."

Zuko growled.

"Katara.. Don't push me."

"Go on! Do it! Torch me! Bet you weren't expecting that! In fact, why don't you just eliminate the competition, as I'm clearly all that's standing in your way and you've only got to- mmphh!"

Zuko slammed his lips into Kataras, shoving her up against the wall, hands roaming over her waist as he whispered in his ear, voice gravelly.

"I can think of a lot more enjoyable things to do with my competition than that."

Katara thought she was going to have a heart attack. She couldn't lie to herself, Zuko's dominant attitude was turning her on, but how dare he?

Katara shoved him back, Zuko's eyes widening in surprise as she advanced on him, her movements predatory, gaze sultry.

Zuko's throat constricted.

He had not been expecting this. He felt his blood quicken as Katara, book smart and disciplined, backed him up against the wall.

When their lips collided this time, they were battling over dominance, not to prove a point. The difference was electric.

Lightning crackled around Zuko's hands as he gripped Katara to him, impossibly close as they pushed against each other, panting, years of suppressed tension coming to the surface.

*ding*

"Now what do we have here. See Sokka, I told you this is all it would take."

"TOPH?!"

Toph cackled at the sight in front of her, Zuko and Katara had jumped apart, still panting, blushing heavily.

"Metal bending _is_ a neat trick, that was fun. C'mon Snoozles, the elevator doors may be open now but something tells me whatever they were doing in that lift isn't quite finished with yet."

Sokka nodded, mute with shock as Toph sashayed away, her long dark hair brushing against the tattoos on her lower back, dragging the boy behind her.

Iroh's words echoed through Zuko's head.

"Understanding others, the other elements, the other nations, will help you become whole."

He smiled.


End file.
